Chamber Advocacy, Regional Coalition Yield $20 Million for 91 Freeway

A $20 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will contribute towards the financing of the SR-91 Corridor Improvement Project, as part of an effort to reduce congestion on one of the most heavily traveled routes in Southern California.

The United States Department of Transportation awarded $20 million in federal funds to contribute towards the financing of corridor improvements along the 91 freeway, creating thousands of jobs in inland Southern California. This announcement is only a recent success as part of the ongoing process to ensure that the federal government provides the necessary financing the fund the entire $1.3 billion project.

With the strong support and collaboration between the Chamber, the Monday Morning Group, and several federal legislators, the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC) was awarded the grant via the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, a part of the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA), for the State Route 91 Corridor Improvement Project.

The selection process was highly competitive due to an enormous need for improving infrastructure and goods movement across the nation coupled with a shortage of funding for transportation at the federal level. “This would not have been possible and this project would not have had this success to date but for the continued support of Senators Dianne Feinstein (CA) and Barbara Boxer (CA) as well as Representatives Ken Calvert (CA-44), Jerry Lewis (CA-41), Mary Bono Mack (CA-45), and Gary Miller (CA-42),” said Cindy Roth, Chamber President and CEO.

A recent study by Beacon Economics indicates that the net economic and time savings benefit of the project will exceed $3.2 billion and create as many as 16,000 jobs during the five-year time-span of construction. The overall length of construction will be considerably shortened through the use of design-build contracting, approved specifically for this project by state legislation. Other estimates, which included service jobs created by the road workers spending money, said the work could bring about 16,000 jobs between now and 2017.

The SR-91 project focuses on reducing congestion on one of the most heavily traveled freeways in Southern California by extending the 91 Express Lanes into Riverside County, adding a new lane in each direction of the SR-91, rebuilding seven interchanges, making needed street and access improvements in the city of Corona, and constructing a number of auxiliary lanes at key locations to ease access on and off the freeway. The toll lanes will also enable RCTC to work with the Riverside Transit Agency to expand express bus service along the corridor.

Nevertheless, this grant will leverage part of a $445 million TIFIA loan needed from the U.S. Treasury to finance the SR-91 project (one-third of the project’s cost).Though the $20 million does not provide all the federal backing that RCTC needs for the $1.3 billion freeway widening, the grant is encouraging, said Anne Mayer, RCTC Executive Director of the Riverside County Transportation Commission. The Chamber and other community groups will continue to advocate for the necessary financing to ensure that this project begins and finishes construction on time.